Child&#39;s toy



United States Patent CHILDS TOY Lew W. Karalus, Bridgeport, and Stephen J. Zelle, Fairfield, Conn.

Application July 17, 1956, Serial No. 598,322

1 Claim. (Cl. 46-1) This invention generally relates to an amusement device and more particularly to a childs toy for attachment to any one of several pieces of baby furniture for providing a toy which will amuse a child.

An object of the present invention is to provide a childs toy which may be easily attached to a piece of childs furniture such as a playpen or high chair and incorporates a mirror of an unbreakable type having a rubber cushioned peripheral edge together with a plurality of colored beads supported in front of the reflector surface of the mirror so that the child will not only see his own image but also the image of the beads wherein it will intrigue the child to such an extent that he will minutely explore the beads in order to determine where the beads are and also to exploit the childs natural interest in his own image.

Other objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, ease of operation, ease of attachment, safety, adjustability and its adaptation for its particular purposes.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is an elevational view of the childs toy of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 22 of Figure 1 illustrating the details of construction thereof; and,

Figure 3 is an enlarged detailed sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3-3 of Figure 1 illustrating the details of the mechanism for mounting the colored beads.

Referring now specifically to the oflici'al drawings, the numeral generally designates the childs toy of the present invention which includes a generally rectangular mirror 12 of unbreakable material having a peripheral rim or frame 14 of resilient cushioning material preferably rubber which is provided with an inwardly opening peripheral groove 16 for receiving the periphery of the mirror 12 thereby mounting the mirror so that no sharp corners thereof are provided and so that the edges of the mirror 12 constituted by the frame 14 may be engaged in a child's month without possibility of injury thereto.

The lower end of the toy 10 is provided with a pair of mounting brackets generally designated by the numeral 18, each of which includes an arcuate clamp member 20 having an extending portion 26 terminating in a hinge barrel 28 for association with a hinge barrel 30 on a similarly extending portion 32 and an arcuate clamp member 34. Each of the clamp members 20 and 34 is provided with an associated arcuate clamp member 36 2 and 38 having an inwardly extending portion 40 engaged with the portions 26 and 32 and secured thereto with clamp screws 42 and 44, respectively. The clamp screw 44 is of the wing type for permitting ready detachment on the clamp members 34 and 38 from the upper rail 46 of a playpen, crib or similar piece of furniture. The matching hinge barrels 28 and 30 are provided with facing teeth 48 and a hinge pin 50 with a threaded end portion receiving a wing nut 52 for clamping the clamp members in angularly adjusted position whereby the mirror 12 may be supported vertically above the vertical side of a crib or playpen or supported in vertical relation at the front edge of the tray on a high chair whereby the child employing the high chair will see his image while eating and will eat better since it is well known that it is easier to feed a child in "front of a mirror while they are amused by their own reflection.

Supported adjacent the lower end of the mirror 12 is a plurality of colored beads 54 which are preferably of plastic and slidably mounted on a wire rod member 56 having an offset end portion 58 at each end thereof with the end portions 58 each terminating in a U-shaped inwardly facing portion 60 for straddling the mirror 12 at each edge thereof and being disposed between the mirror 12 and the resilient cushion frame 14. The beads 54 are in spaced relation to the mirror 12 so that their image will be reflected from the mirror 12 thereby creating an illusion of a greater number of beads and further enhancing the amusement qualities of the toy and attraction of the child to the toy. Other objects may be suggested on the wire rod 56 wherein such objects may be square blocks or objects of any shape, size or form. These objects may be employed in physical therapy such as in the teaching of eye and hand co-ordination. Also, the peripheral rim or frame 14 may be of sponge rubber with nursery rhyme characters, animals or similar objects on the exterior surface thereof. These characters may be molded in relief, sculptured or otherwise formed on the rim 14 for further decorative and eye appealing features.

The toy 10 provides a safe attachment for any piece of childs furniture such as a playpen, crib, high chair or the like, and provides a mirror for reflecting the childs own image for his amusement and also for reflecting the image of multi-colored beads 54 wherein the child will be attracted by the beads and the illusion of a greater number of beads than there really is.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

An amusement device for attachment to childrens furniture comprising an unbreakable mirror, a frame of cushioning material encircling the periphery of the mirror, a plurality of colored beads supported in spaced relation to the reflective surface of the mirror whereby the image of the beads creates an illusion of a larger number of beads than is actually present, and bracket means for adjustably supporting the mirror in accessible position for a child to observe their actions and to manipulate the beads, said bracket means including a pair of clamps mounted on said frame, a pair of clamps for mounting the frame on a piece of furniture, and adjustable hinge means interconnecting the pairs of clamps for adjustably 3' positioning the mirror in position, said beads being slid- References Cited in the file of this patent ably and rotateblv monnted on a rod rnember having ofiF- UNITED STATES PATENTS set ends terminating 1n inwardly facing U-shaped portions receiving the edges of the mirror and being disposed 886,273 Tanzey P 1908 between the mirror and frame, said frame of cushioning 5 888,569 Zarella May 26, 1908 2,051,406 Green Aug. 18, 1936 material forming a resilientjeething device for a small child. 82,881 Ostrow May 12, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS 140,723 Australia 1948 

